NME TOUR
Maccabees/Bombay Bicycle Club/Big Pink/The Drums Cardiff University 13/02/2010


The New Musical Express has long been a barometer of what is hip and trendy in the British music scene, with the list of bands that have been propelled to stardom by a good review from this esteemed organ seeming endless. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, Smiths, Stone Roses, Libertines and latterly Florence and the Machine have all been helped on their way by the backing of the NME. Unfortunately I am old enough to remember the times when it, and its direct rivals Sounds and the Melody Maker, were known as the “inkies” as the print was guaranteed to come off on your fingers as I poured over its every line trying to find out when the next Slaughter and the Dogs tour would be and if I could buy Generation X’s latest single on coloured vinyl. Ah the memories…..

So in a belated attempt to see what the youngsters of today consider vital I made my way to the Great Hall in Cardiff University to take in the recent NME tour. All the dates were sold out largely due to the presence of a band that had been mentioned in all the lists of groups to make it big in 2010 – THE DRUMS. It is rare indeed that I attend a gig where the doors are at 7.00, and 15 minutes later the venue is two thirds full, but such is the buzz regarding theses New Yorkers that it appears most have come specifically to see them.


Pic Steve Bateman, more here

So, are they worth the hype? Well no, not really. For a start they use a backing track to meat out their sound which doesn’t seem very rock’n’roll. Also, and this is another sign of my age, the lead singer sounds exactly like Mark Almond singing Smiths lyrics. But I guess if you were born after 1990 you don’t know who Soft Cell were and think Morrissey is that fat bloke that occasionally turns up on Jonathan Ross. So I guess to a younger generation, lead singer Jonathan Pierce has a unique vocal style. They are poppy and bright and make a pleasant enough sound and, heck, I even liked the highpoint of “Let’s Go Surfing”, but are they the future of rock music? Well not for me, but then again I’m not 19 and wearing skinny jeans so what do I know!


Pic Steve Bateman, more here

Next up were THE BIG PINK, who were more up my street, They had a darker feel than the other bands on show and, in keeping, all members were resplendent in black. Sonically they were by far and away the loudest and the oriental lady, Akiko Matsuura, who was drumming knocked seven bells out of her kit. Most of the tracks came from their latest release “A Brief History of Love” and stuck to the tried and trusted formula of a thumping drums, heavy bass line and screeching guitars, not dissimilar to Jesus & Mary Chain or early Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Highlight was the single “Dominoes” which in anybody’s book is a cracker. Of all the bands on show tonight they are the ones I am most likely to see again.


Pic Steve Bateman, more here

As for BOMBAY BAY BICYCLE CLUB, well I didn’t know anything by them beforehand and, now having seen them live, I have little inclination to pursue any interest in the band. Suffice to say they’re young, thin and achingly cool (almost exactly the opposite of me) but seemed quite timid and introverted on stage. However it should be said that the, by now, capacity crowd lapped them up, and the Bristolian Gashead who had accompanied me to the gig had crossed the Severn Bridge specifically to see them. All this seemed to prove is that the generation gap is still in existence, but let's face it they are not trying to attract the likes of geriatric old gits like me, and quite right too.


Pic Steve Bateman, more here


Lastly headliners THE MACCABEES sauntered on stage. I had seen them last year in the same building but in the smaller Solus venue (in fact you can probably still find my review in the R*E*P*E*A*T archives if you want to be bored rigid). Bolstered by the additional songs from their second album “Wall of Arms” the set list had a more rounded feel, with songs such as “Love You Better”, “William Powers” “No Kind Words” being interwoven with stalwart favourites like “About a Dress” and “Toothpaste Kisses”. The band is self confident and justifies the star billing, especially fronted as they are by the heart throb of indie Orlando Weeks. However the highpoint for me was their cover of the old Orange Juice song “Rip It Up”, so perhaps even they realise that good music was around before the beginning of the new millennium.

So there we have it, a veritable smorgasbord of new band, some of whom could possibly go onto to become the next Killers (headliners on the 2005 NME tour). Oh and if you think the running order has any effect on success then think again. In January 2000 I stayed in the pub and missed the gig opening, grave yard shift, which was filled by Cold Play. So perhaps in 10 years time the lead singer of the Drums will be married to a Hollywood starlet, have a child name after a fruit and be a total arse to boot!

Bones